libertarian

TAMPA, April 12, 2012 — While the media continue to ignore compelling evidence that the Republican primary race is much closer than they are reporting, some Ron Paul supporters are nevertheless thinking about what they might do if Paul does not get the Republican nomination.

Throughout this election cycle, Gary Johnson’s name has been omnipresent as a libertarian alternative. There’s only one problem. Gary Johnson is not a libertarian.

Cato, with a well-respected reputation for independent research, may soon become the latest libertarian organization to be co-opted by conservatives. Once libertarian but now conservative tycoon Charles Koch is making a power-play for control of Cato, seeking to turn it into a political propaganda arm of the Right.

Actor Bill Murray on Friday said he believes Americans need to be more personally responsible for their well-being.

"I think we ought to be personally responsible," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Friday morning. "I think if you can take care of yourself, and then maybe try to take care of someone else, that's sort of how you're supposed to live.

Libertarian hero Ron Paul stands to benefit from a little-known phenomenon stirring in New Hampshire: Fans of hands-off government are migrating en masse to the state where license plates boast the motto “Live Free or Die”—and where, coincidentally, the presidential primary season kicks off.

I continue to receive defeatist attitudes about how to combat the Leviathan state. Many feel that we have a lawless political class and that there is absolutely no way to reign it in outside of complete revolution or bankruptcy. And admittedly neither are very good options, both would cause much pain to many people.

This is a dangerous meme that reflects exactly what the ruling class wants, complete disengagement from the political system by the most informed among us.

The idea that democracy works better when informed people vote would seem to make sense. However, the case for informed voting breaks down when we consider the difficulties of being well-informed about political options.

In the face of the government's attempts to silence antiwar activism, libertarians and socialists came together to protest. The object of their outrage was the series of raids conducted by the FBI on antiwar activists in Minnesota, Chicago, Michigan, and North Carolina; and the issuance of subpoenas to appear before a grand jury to many of the same. While the government claims that the raids are seeking evidence of material support of terrorism, the peace activists insist that it is a fishing expedition intended to harass.

“The truth is a Governor cannot create private sector jobs. Big government does not add to the prosperity of a state- it consumes it. As Ohio’s next Governor, my primary mission will not be to “create jobs” or to promise tax cuts 10 years from now… it is simply to get the government out of the way.”